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A shortage of scientists

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Canada’s prosperity in the global economy of the 21st century depends on its capacity to compete in lucrative knowledge-based industries. That means Canadians must embrace the innovation agenda in a big way to keep pace with rapid technological change.

That’s why the federal government has revamped its innovation strategy to spur business sector innovation, Gary Goodyear, minister of state for science and technology, explains in an email. Innovative businesses, he says, are more competitive and “create high-value jobs.”

The single-most-important component in Canada’s innovation infrastructure is a highly-skilled work force. Without scientists, mathematicians, researchers and engineers, the scientific discoveries that drive innovation wouldn’t be possible.

“Universities are capable of delivering very big disruptive, unexpected changes to the marketplace,” says Ted Hsu, federal Liberal science critic and MP for Kingston and the Islands.

No doubt, research discoveries drive innovation and competitiveness. And Hsu points out that big discoveries tend to arise from pure or basic research projects.

Some in the business community question the value of pure university research. But Ross Laver of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) doesn’t share that view.

“It’s terribly short-sighted to suggest that the kind of research that takes place in universities is sort of an ivory-tower phenomenon that has no great value to Canada,” says the vice president of the CCCE, an influential business lobby group.

“On the contrary, we need that pure research, the basic research, because it produces the building blocks of the great successful innovations of the future,” Laver says emphatically. “You can’t have one without the other.”

Not only does public investment in university research contribute to scientific progress, says Laver, it also helps graduate students to gain valuable skills.

“They will be the great innovators of the future,” he says.

Similarly, Hsu warns against cutting funding for pure university research, because basic research labs are the “biggest contributor” to Canada’s supply of scientists.

“This is probably the No. 1 challenge that Canada faces when it comes to innovation,” he said.

When considering whether to invest in Canada, companies look for professional talent.

“If they can’t get the skilled workers with the professional skills that they’re looking for, they go open up elsewhere,” Laver says.

Meanwhile, Canada’s competitors, India and China, are churning out professionals with advanced degrees in the sciences and engineering. And Canadian companies are often forced by the domestic skilled labour shortage to hire foreign professionals to work in this country.

“We import a lot of people in the sciences and engineering,” agrees Hsu.

“We can’t buy our way out of the problem by simply importing the talent,” Laver said. “We have to figure out a solution.”

The answer, says Hsu, is to be found in high schools.

“It really does start with having the teachers in secondary school to make the kids feel like this (science) is a fun subject, something they enjoy working on, and they might enjoy having a career in.”

Steven Liss, vice-principal for research at Queen’s University, isn’t convinced that there is sufficient “receptor capacity” in all areas of science and engineering “to support a larger pool of students.”

Liss does acknowledge that Canada needs more young people to study science and engineering. However, he says students should be “prepared to recognize the opportunities and value that arises from career paths through innovation and entrepreneurship.”

For example, he says that Canada needs social innovators, entrepreneurs, and more employers.

In general, Queen’s University views collaboration with the private sector in a favourable light, he says.

“Expanding and strengthening collaborative research partnerships with businesses and industries, such as Bombardier, based in the region and globally are particularly important and provide strategic benefits to the university,” Liss says.

For example, he says that partnerships create joint funding opportunities, “which provide leverage for federal and provincial government investments.”

There are a number of other important benefits, including industry-based internships for Queen’s students. In addition, says Liss, Queen’s researchers gain access to specialized equipment, systems, and resources that they otherwise would not have at their disposal.

When it comes to advancing the innovation agenda, Laver says, it’s essential that the federal government continue to pursue liberalized international trade, negotiating bilateral and multilateral trade pacts that expose Canadian business to international competition.

“The more mid-sized companies in Kingston or Peterborough or Cape Breton are exposed to the international marketplace, the more they will strive to be innovative,” Laver says.

However, he doesn’t believe that government should be telling companies what types of R&D they should be conducting, “because it’s very difficult to predict where the marketplace place is going.”

When it comes to the innovation agenda, Queen’s University is concerned about stable government funding.

“The supports and resources critical for basic or curiosity-driven research, for which there is no obvious application, are being eroded,” Liss says.

He also maintains that it’s “incumbent upon leaders in both industry and universities to remind society and government of the value and impact that research excellence has on the quality of our lives and for society at large.”

If Hsu were minister of science and technology, he says, he would do things differently.

First, he would place greater emphasis on “the value of discovery, basic blue-sky, curiosity-driven research.”

But he would also maintain industry-academic partnerships.

Second, he would do more to help Canadian business gain access to venture capital.

At present, the Canadian venture -capital market is risk-averse, forcing many Canadian companies to seek financing in the United States.

“If you want to raise a significant amount of money,” says Hsu, “you go to New York and San Francisco.”

In fairness to the Conservative government, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s budget allocates $400 million to a venture-capital fund for Canadian enterprises.

Third, Hsu says he would encourage small businesses to become more innovative by adopting information technologies that would make them more efficient and competitive.

Finally, Hsu would “enlarge the idea of innovation beyond technology” to include marketing, branding and distribution of Canadian products abroad.